Family Ties
by BallinBlonde21
Summary: AH/AU AH/OU A series of one shots of Jace and Clary interacting with their children, along with the children of our other favorite TMI characters. Cute and fluffy. Something to put a smile on your face :) I own nothing except my ideas and dreams *Sniffs*


_This is going to be my go-to fic when I have writer's block, since I always seem to be able to write cute, fluffy pieces. It's just a series of one-shots of life with Jace as a father and Clary as a mother. Fluffy, light...something to read when the current fic you're obsessing with is really ticking you off. (But if it's my fic then I've got nothing) So...just a little something to put a smile on your face...enjoy :)_

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"Daddy!" An excited girl squealed, giving Jace merely seconds to brace himself for impact. He let out an _oof_ as the bundle of golden curls launched herself at him, her green eyes alight with laughter as he took her in his arms and swung her around in a circle.

"Hey, princess," he said, looking over his daughters head and winking at the redhead that stood a couple feet away. He smirked as she flushed. All these years together, and that simple blush still got to him. "How was the first day of preschool, sweetheart?" He asked the squirming toddler in his arms.

"Omigosh, dad, it was amazing! I got to finger paint and drink chocolate milk and eat some Oreos, and some girls wanted me to play Barbies, but there were these really cool dinosaurs, so I played with them instead." She batted her long eyelashes at him, her plump cheeks adorned with the cutest dimples when she smiled.

"She's your daughter," Clary murmured as she set her keys on the table, maneuvering herself around the pair to go to the kitchen. "What do you want for supper, Ella?"

"Mashed tatoes!" she screamed, pushing herself from Jace's arms to sprint a lap around the house. Jace just chuckled, watching her curls bounce behind her.

"Hey, baby," he whispered in Clary's ear. She was at the counter peeling potatoes, and Jace put a hand on either side of her, bracing his weight on the counter, boxing her in. He kissed her cheek gently. "How was your day?"

Before Clary could answer, Ella skipped into the room, pulling at her curls the way Clary did when she was frustrated. Ella only did it when she had too much pent up energy. "Can we have corn, too?" Clary laughed at her daughter as Jace snuck another kiss behind her ear.

"Of course, sweetie. Anything else?" Ella tapped her chubby finger against her cheek, one dimple appearing as she gave her mom the signature Herondale smirk.

"Chocolate cake!" She took off sprinting again before Clary could even get a word in.

"That girl, I swear," she said with a laugh, returning to the task at hand. She plunked a few potatoes into a pot of water before looking up. "Can you go check on her? Silence and a three-year-old…it's pretty suspicious." Jace couldn't agree more. He grabbed Clary's hip and twirled her against him, her gasp of surprise landing against his lips as he stole a kiss. Clary blew a curl off her forehead as he chuckled quietly to himself.

"Ellaaaaa," he sing-songed as he climbed the set of stairs that led to the little girl's bedroom. "Come out, come out wherever you are!" He poked his head into the first door on the right. It was their son Stephen's room, decorated with flames on the walls and a fire truck bed, a stuffed Dalmatian sitting in the center. Jace smiled, thinking adoringly of the first-grader with eyes that mirrored his own, though his head of curls leaned toward more strawberry blond than golden. He was still cute all the same. "Ella?" He inquired as he carefully maneuvered around the war set up between the superheros and the villains. He noticed Anakin Skywalker on the villain's side and discretely switched him over. He was a hero to begin with, just kind of misunderstood.

"Daddyyyyy," he heard down the hall. Right. Rogue toddler running rampant through the halls. He tiptoed around his son's play things as he followed the high-pitched giggles. He checked the ocean-themed bathroom. Still nothing. He peeked into his oldest child's room. Celine—their third-grader with fiery red hair and eyes that seemed to change from green to gold in an instant—was tucked securely into her bed, sniffling lightly from the cold that had rendered her unable to attend school. "How are you feeling, honey?" he asked, sitting on the edge of her sparkly purple bedspread, surrounded by orange walls and art supplies and dolls. She definitely would take after Clary.

"I'm okay, daddy," she coughed as Jace smoothed his hand across her forehead. Her skin was cool to the touch, so that was good. He leaned over and kissed her forehead, telling her to sleep and that he'd come get her later to see if she wanted dinner. "Okay," she murmured before snuggling down into the blankets. Jace tucked them tighter around her, loving the giggle that escaped her lips as he told her when she got out she'd be a butterfly. He went to close the door behind him, but a soft voice stopped him. "Daddy?" God, if his heart didn't leap whenever he heard that word. He'd never thought he wanted to be a father, certainly not to three children, but now, he couldn't picture it any other way. "I love you," she whispered, followed by a cough. Jace smiled. No matter how many times he'd hear those three little words, it wouldn't be enough.

"I love you, too, angel." He closed the door quietly behind him and continued on his hunt.

Finally, after checking the linen closet and finding several Oreo cookies stashed among the sheets, he pushed open Ella's door. He saw her walls first, the pale blue covered with golden-haired ballerinas, seemingly dancing around the room. Clary had spent months during her pregnancy perfecting these walls, and when Jace told her that she'd had a boy, she actually cried. Then she cussed him out after finding out he was lying. He loved her dirty mouth. "Daddy!" He snapped out of those thoughts immediately.

His gaze fell on a little blonde trying desperately to zip herself into her princess dress. "Helllllp," she whined. "Please," she added as Jace raised his eyebrows. He knelt down beside her and pulled the zipper on her dress, watching her twirl and giggle once it was on. "Do I look like Elsa?" Ever since _Frozen_ came out, that little girl could barely think of anything else. "We almost have the same name!" she'd cried in the theatre, earning a round of laughs and a few stern shushes. She thought it was a pretty amazing thing to almost have a princess named after her.

He pulled her giggling form onto his lap and peppered kisses on her face. "You're much prettier than Elsa." Ella rolled her eyes, the same way Clary used to when he fed her one of his lines. Clary's traits were so evident in all their children. If it wasn't the red in the hair, it was the green in the eyes. If it wasn't the artistic ability, it was the stubborn wit. Jace loved it.

"Daddy, come sit!" She patted a pink wooden chair next to her tea table. She was pouring water into cups for Eeyore and a stuffed Elsa. Nobody could say no to the puppy dog eyes she was giving to him, like, nobody. He scrunched himself into the little pink chair and thankfully accepted a cup of water. "I don't have any cakes," she said with a small frown, a little wrinkle forming between her eyes as she furrowed her brow.

Jace winked at her as he reached into his pocket and pulled out the secret Oreos, his heart swelling as her little face lit up. He put a couple on each plate, not forgetting to deposit a few in front of the stuffed characters. He pretended to sip at his tea, remembering that one time Clary had informed him that the only water she could reach on her own was from the toilet. "Oh, Daddy, I got the water from the sink in the bathtub." Just like Clary, this little girl always seemed to know his thoughts. Jace merely nodded and took a small sip. It tasted normal, so he took another. "Guess. What." Ella put her teapot down and clasped her tiny hands into her lap, addressing not only Jace but Elsa and Eeyore, too. "I was invited to a ball!"

"That's great, honey!" She beamed up at Jace as she rocked in her seat.

"It's at a palace! And Elsa and Aurora and Belle will be there, too." Jace nodded, hearing Clary holler his name from downstairs. "Momma's callin' you," she stated, pouring a little too much water into her cup so it overflowed. She quickly mopped it up with a layer of her dress.

She looked up sadly at Jace when he stood up. He ruffled her hair and placed a kiss among the mess of curls. "I'll be back, princess." He chuckled at her conversation with Elsa as he wove his way back down to the kitchen, stopping to peak at Celine to make sure she was okay. She was sound asleep.

"Yes, dear?" He asked, taking in Clary's lacy apron as she boiled the potatoes on the stove. She smiled at him as she moved to stir the corn.

"Can you go pick up Stephen from the bus stop? I know it's not far from our house, but he's just scared and—" Jace cut her off with a swift kiss, feeling her melt against him.

"Of course, hun." He wrapped his arms around her waist and dropped a kiss onto her nose. "Are you okay?" She ran her hands through her hair, careful not to do it near the food.

"I'm just a bit stressed." Jace nuzzled his face into the place where her head met her neck, knowing it was her weakness. "It's just, I've got a lot of orders to complete. I'll be okay." Jace nodded and kissed her once more before grabbing his cell phone from the counter.

Clary owned her own art shop. Just a small thing, where she displayed some of her paintings to sell and took a few orders on the side. They both knew that they didn't need the extra income, not with Jace's extremely large trust fund and his high-paying CEO position. But Clary had told him that it was her passion, so he funded it. He'd helped her pick out the brick-front shop on the main street. He'd helped her paint the walls a warm espresso color. He'd hauled in the beaten, second-hand leather chairs, telling her that if she wanted knew one's he'd buy them for her. "They have character," she'd protested in the way she always did. He pounded the nails to hang pictures in places that she couldn't reach. He'd wired the beautiful chandelier he'd gotten her for her birthday. That was something that she'd truly loved. He'd still catch her marveling at the way the light caught and refracted off the crystals. They were real, but Jace would never tell her that. And he knew she loved it too much to ask.

He pulled himself to a halt at the bus stop, ignoring the giggles and flirty looks the other women gave him. Had he been his teenage self, he probably would have capitalized on such an opportunity. But he had a redhead at home with eyes that he could see the world through, and that was all he'd ever need. "Hey, bud!" he greeted as Stephen descended to the bus's stairs. He hitched his Captain America backpack, the one that replicated the shield, up higher on his shoulders before smiling and walking over to him. His son was never a multi-tasker, something he'd gotten from his old man. Jace ruffled his hair. "Wow, buddy, you need a haircut." He felt Stephen shake his head under his palm. "Why not?"

Stephen grinned up at his father. His face resembled a lot of the pictures Jace had seen of his own father—Stephen Herondale the first. He had one dimple, since his face was always in some sort of a smirk. Clary blamed Jace for that, claiming that their son would be a womanizer before he was even out of elementary school. Judging by the next words that left his mouth, she was right…like always. "The ladies like it, dad." Jace pulled his son's head into his leg, as he rubbed his knuckles lightly against his skull. Stephen laughed, and Jace swung him up over his shoulders.

"The ladies, huh? Like who?"

"Maddie Lewis!" Jace chuckled.

"She's your cousin!"

"Not technically!" Oh my gosh was his kid a spitting image of him or what?

"Okay…who else?" He hummed for a bit, pondering the options.

"Lizzie Blackthorn."

"Helen and Aline's daughter?" Stephen nodded, and Jace shook his head as he opened the front door. As soon as they'd taken their shoes off, Stephen made a beeline for his room. "This conversation isn't over!" he called with a laugh.

"Sorry, dad, but there's a war that I need to fight in." Of course there was. He turned into the kitchen to see Clary pulling a turkey out of the oven, looking more flustered than ever. It was easy to see why, since a bundle of energy was hanging around at her ankles like a kitten.

"Momma, momma, momma," she was saying as Jace slipped into a stool at the breakfast bar, watching Clary smile affectionately at her daughter while trying not to burn anyone with the hot food.

"It's almost dinnertime," she told Jace as Ella continued her assault on Clary's legs.

Jace lifted himself from the chair and ascended the stairs once more. "Can the warfront move to the Mashed Potato Mountains?" Stephen's ears pricked up, and the fight between the Hulk and the Sandman stopped long enough for him to speak.

"Mom made mashed potatoes?" Jace nodded, none too surprised when the war was completely forgotten as Stephen rushed downstairs. Even the prospect of food had him running toward the kitchen…something he'd definitely gotten from Jace.

"Celine?" he asked gently as he walked into the orange room again. This time the little redhead had her nose in an old copy of Charlotte's Web, her favorite book that she'd read over and over again. "You hungry?" She sniffled a bit and nodded as Jace lifted her out of bed, cradling her in his arms, similar to the way he'd carried Clary on their wedding night. She looped her arms around his neck and stayed silent as he brought her to the dining room, setting her upright on one of the mismatched chairs. Jace had been appalled at the idea at first, being the OCD guy he was. Seriously? A table with chairs that didn't match? But the look had grown on him, and each kid had their favorite seat, one that was specifically their own. He kind of found it fun that even if the chairs were rearranged, each kid just slid into the one that was theirs. If all the chairs had matched it wouldn't be like that. He saw that Clary had lit the candles that decorated the center and smiled. Her love was always in the details.

He walked back into the hallway, in route to the kitchen, when he was suddenly unable to walk, a certain three-year-old clamped around his legs. "Daddyyyy," she whined, looking up at him with shimmering eyes. He scooped her up automatically, brushing away the tears on her cheeks.

"What's wrong, princess?" She sobbed quietly once, her fingers playing with a blue sparkle on her dress.

"I…I don't know how to dance! And I just _have _to go to that ball!" Jace didn't let her see him laugh as he set her atop his feet, taking her little hands in his and twirling her around the hallway. "Daddy, I have to know how to dance, otherwise they won't know I'm a princess." Jace smiled down at her, leading her in another circle.

"Honey, you're dancing." She looked down at their feet and giggled. He lifted her into his arms and continued to dance her around the hallway, spinning through the kitchen and ultimately landing her in her chair at the dining table. All thoughts of princesses and balls were forgotten when her eyes landed on the freshly frosted chocolate cake that sat just out of her reach. Jace laughed at Clary's wink as she settled into her seat beside him. He engulfed her little, paint-stained hand in his as he spooned a few mashed potatoes for each of his children, laughing as Stephen wiped his milk out with his elbow, sending his plastic Batman cup to the floor. His face welled up with tears as Clary stood up and began cleaning the mess.

"Oh, honey, it's fine," she cooed in that gentle voice she always had with their children. He'd never heard her raise it once, not even that time that Stephen had gotten so made he'd cut all her decorative pillows on the couch. Jace smiled at her, snatching Ella's hand as it reached for the cake and blowing a raspberry into her fist.

"Not as sneaky as you think you are," he commented, only seeing the knowing stares shared between his three children. Ella finally laughed, her eyes on Celine's plate. Sure enough, a heaping piece of cake was nestled between her turkey and potatoes, a huge bite already missing. Clary laughed at Jace's baffled expression and handed each of her kids a small plate.

"Okay, dessert first," she said, earning a round of cheers. She returned to her position by Jace, squealing at the loud kiss he smacked against her cheek, a round of ew's sounding out. Jace planted one more on her lips. God, he loved his family.

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_Soooo...reviews make me write faster and fluffier :)_

_All My Love_

_~BallinBlonde21_


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